Learning through an Innovative Competition
Learning through an Innovative Competition
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
BBiomedSc
Jason Liang, a third year biomedical sciences student, was a participant of the 8th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. This was a competition that required students to conduct independent projects based on their proposals and theses. After passing the screening from the committee, they were then invited to take part in the final round of the competition, which took place in May 2022.
The project that Jason and his partner conducted was about Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), which is an aggressive head and neck malignancy etiologically linked to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection. As Jason was merely a second year student who had not taken many advanced courses during the competition time, it was the first time for Jason to learn about these terms. However, Jason did not panic, instead he thought that it was a very good opportunity to get some research training. He calmly recalled, “Conducting research does not require much specific background knowledge but researching itself is a learning process.”
Under the supervision of Professor Guan, the Professor from the Department of Clinical Oncology, Jason and his partner were able to find the importance of tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) in the NPC microenvironment. Their study has provided meaningful insights into the development of new biomarkers, helping to guide patient stratification and immunotherapeutic regimens for clinical utility. The successful works finally led Jason to win the Third Prize in the competition.
Jason with his teammate Tracy Leung, also a third year biomedical sciences student in the presentation ceremony
“This competition is very innovative in the way that it requires a lot of bioinformatics information, and I really learnt a lot from that,” expressed Jason. “Time management is another thing I learnt in the competition.” Not only did Jason have to work for the final competition in May, but also the final examination in HKU. Despite being quite tough during the final round of the competition, Jason wants to participate in similar competitions in the future, which can help him to gain more exposure in the biomedical field.
Jason working in the lab
Written by:
Cheryl Leung
Year 3, Faculty of Arts
January 2023